My New Raven Tour

[stutho]

quote:Anyone recommend how best to remove the rohloff label on the hub?

I used a hot air gun to soften the glue a bit.  Take care not to let the hub get too hot.  You want to still be able to touch it!  After the label was removed I got the last of the sticky stuff of with WD40 and a bit of Mer (polish).

[freddered]

On the subject of Rohloff noise, mine has got much quieter (about 1200 miles)even in 7th.  In all honesty though I think that:

1) It IS quieter

2) I don't think I notice it any more(have you ever lived by a Railway?  You don't notice the trains after a while)

Here is my tip for using the noise in 1st-7th to your advantage:

When climbing (and you WILL be climbing when you go below 8th gear I suspect) try to make the 'whirring' sound as even as possible.  ie.  If you 'stomp' on the pedals you will get a distinct "Whirr.....Whirr.....Whirr" noise.  If you adopt a more efficient circular stroke you will get a quieter but constant "whirrrrrrrrrrrrrrr" like an electric motor (does this make any sense?).

If nothing else it takes your mind of the climb trying to get the smoother action.

Also I think Rohloffs get bad press as far as noise is concerned, Both my derailleur bikes make a hell of a noise in certain 'extreme' gears as the chain rattles against the cage and also when making changes of several gears at a time (can sound like an accident in a cutlery factory).

in 8th and above nothing comes close to the quietness of a Raven over poor roads, no chain slap, no gear rattles just precise click of gear changes.

As with EVERYTHING on a Raven/Rohloff the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages.

[geocycle]

Well, now had my RT 11 days and have 270 miles on the clock.  I took it for a spin through Scotland (Glasgow to Inverness) and all went well.  The Rohloff noise may be abating a bit and I only really notice 5, 6 and 7th now.  

Compared to my now retired Dawes hybrid, the handling of the raven tour is excellent.  It was great in forests and on steep descents in the wet.  I've not felt the same level of fatigue, and it climbed beautifully.  The only negative points were the tyres.  Despite concerns the guys at SJS convinced me that Panaracer tour guard would be OK.  I would probably agree if you never leave the tarmac.  But, the rear lasted only 100 miles before tearing the very thin side wall on a forest section.  The tyre had to be replaced in Pitlochry with a hi-road, the only 26x1.5 in the shop.  They also collect small pieces of grit which can't do them much good and makes an irritating noise.  So, I will be ordering two Schwalbe marathons next week (based on 10,000 miles without a problem on the last bike).

[stan]

I'm not sure I can keep-up with all this technical jargon, but I took delivery of my Raven Tour on Monday(many thanks to Mark et al!), ferried it over to France that evening, and on Tuesday discovered a major design fault!!!
I have to ask whether anyone else has this problem?
On my old 'bike it was precisely 8.3kms for the morning trip to the boulangerie.  With my wife waiting in bed for her croissants this was just about acceptable.  My Raven Tour has never yet been able to complete the trip in under 20km!  I think that Andrew should be requested to come-up with an explanation... if only to rescue my marriage.  Every time I get in the saddle the ruddy machine just keeps rolling and rolling - and if you can imagine what that is like, streaming across the early morning Normandy countryside - you'll understand my problem!
Answers please...............
My best incident so far was when the lycra-clad Frenchman seriously explained to his companion that "the green velo with the very ancient Englishman on top is the latest tres silencieux electric bike"!!?!
Now....... 'remis3velisque'... what are all these anti-theft devices you've come-up with?  I find it difficult to accept that you need them in France (or are you city based?) but with several tours in mind I'd appreciate some advice on locks.
Stan

[geocycle]

Nice post Stan -memories of France.  I used to live in the Provence and the trip to the Boulangerie was definitely the daily highlight!  

I know what you mean about the 'raven tour mile though', my 4 mile commute through Lancaster to work has now become 9 miles along a river, spotting wildlife and through some rolling hills!  Great bikes!  Mine came into its own at the weekend when the path I was following along the Lune estuary through various tidal fords suddenly ended and I had a mile along a beach to reach the road I wanted.  This would have seriously irritated the derailleur but the rohloff just kept going.

[geocycle]

Here are a few pics (well 4) of my Thorn Raven Tour on tour in Scotland on sustrans route 7.  The bike is now two months old, has a black seat post and marathon tyres. If the technology works I might try some more!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/46905038@N00/279222224/in/photostream/

BTW anyone know how to get images to appear in the message?

[freddered]

How to post an image in your message....

1)Right-Click on the image and select properties.
2)Copy the Address/URL - http://.............etc.
3)Paste between img Hyperlink tags (select "Insert Image" from the Format Bar)

[lewisnoble]

Looks great!!  I have been on some of route 7, in Dumfries and Galloway - a lovely part of the country.  I see you have the external gear mech - any particular reason??  Though I agree it does look good . . .

Lewis

[geocycle]

Well guys my raven tour has just reached its 100 day no-return birthday.  Not that there was ever any chance it would be going back!  Done 900 miles and the bike's been great.  Its been on road, off road, shopping, commuting, touring, to conferences, on trains....  So no regrets but here are a few thoughts:

Pluses: rohloff even better than expected, handling and ride quality ditto, ergon grips, comfort bars (was v sceptical but can't fault them)
Neutral: in-board bar ends (can't see me using them much as they give limited control), the Blackburn mtn rack (might be a bit flimsy and doesn't quite fit my karrimor bags very well)
Negatives: panaracer tyres (let me down), shimano brake blocks (have damaged the rims)

[lewisnoble]

Could someones please tell me what riser bars are??  I keep hearing about them and wondering . . . are they the bars that rather resemble a dog's bone fitted on to the stem??  Thanks, guys!!

Lewis the still learning one

[nnnmvg]

My Stealth Black RST was delivered y'day all nicely packed in two boxes. Have so far only removed the parts for the boxes and protective foam from the tubing. All the parts are well packaged and I don't expect to find anything missing. Coming from the land of Ikea I am well used to putting together flat pack furniture but the pleasure of assembling the bike is something I will savour over the weekend!

My only minor disappointment is that the chainring got damaged in transit. The protecting foam was cut through when I removed the frame from the box and one of the spike ends was burred over (but not bent as far as I can see). Have yet to report this to SJSC

[geocycle]

Bad luck on the chain ring nnnmvg, hope you get it sorted so you can enjoy your RST.  Just one thought, years ago I found a blunted chain ring spike on a derailleur bike.  I took it to the LBS but they said that some suntour rings had this to help chain shifting.  To be honest I never quite believed them but worth checking with SJSC.........

John: I changed the tyres to marathons and they've been great. I've always had these in the past but thought I'd try the default panaracers.  Whilst they rode well the side wall was very thin and split on first serious outing.  The shimano brake blocks were very disappointing and were clearly grinding lumps out of the rims -not a great advert for Shimano or SJSC and something that I would not expect to find on a bike of this quality.

[Swislon]

nnnmvg, Enjoy putting your RST together and hopefully chainring will be OK, but SJS will change if damaged. Please post photos and your thoughts once you've ridden it.

geocycle, I have LX brakes but haven't noticed any grinding or noise. When did you first notice there was a problem and what brake blocks have you changed to ?

Cheers

[geocycle]

Swislon, the problems were after a few hundred miles, well within the life expentancy of the blocks.  I have the default Shimano brakes.  These were a bit of a risk on ordering and I had expected to upgrade but they have worked as well (and are essentially identical) to the deore  v brakes on my last bike   -  apart from this problem with the blocks.  Under light braking the problem is minor and only limited grating is heard. But when applied tightly eg. downhill in wet conditions they scour lumps of Al from the rims.  After extracting these lumps on two occasions I became concerned about weakening the rim, gave up and bought some cheapish cartridge type blocks from the LBS (Clarks?).  The problem has now been solved and braking performance is fine.  Searching on other fora (eg. C+ and CTC) indicates that others have also had this problem with some forms of Shimano blocks.

[Swislon]

Thanks for that geocycle. It might be better if I change blocks early on then as I don't want the same problem. It sounds nasty and expensive, if not dangerous even.
Anyone used the Swiss Stop Yellow King Brake Blocks as recommended by Paul Vincent in Cycling Plus this month (Pick of the Year page 46) or recommend any others [?]